Mulberry Soaked Oat Porridge

If you’ve been keeping up with me on Instagram, then you know my new amazing discovery in our yard… mulberry trees galore! I’ve found about four luscious mulberry trees surrounding our home each one dropping heavy juicy mulberries by the minute. This Mulberry Soaked Oat Porridge was inspired purely from these gorgeous trees in our yard. Although it’s been quite some time since I’ve had fresh mulberries, I use dried mulberries throughout the year when fresh isn’t in season in my smoothie bowls, muesli, and snacks. Mulberries are beautiful fruits to be added to a wide variety of dishes, but I particularly love them with breakfast and hearty porridges.

Growing up, my family had several mulberry trees and I specifically remember the journey it took to get my little hands on those purple gems, it took skills of climbing trees, hopping fences, and finally reaching the long branches filled with mulberries. I would always be so proud at the accomplishment of grasping and picking them off the tree and having my own treat foraged, with purple stained fingers and mouth taboot.

I found myself in the yard picking these ripe mulberries straight off the green vines and branches and was instantly transported to my childhood experiences of picking mulberries and popping them in my mouth with no hesitation, it was a beautiful moment. Somedays, all it takes for me to relax is something so simple as this, it’s more time in nature and less time in the digital/internet world and of working on projects (even though I adore it!). Naturally, this lovely experience instantly fueled my body as well as my mind and I had great new inspiration on how to use this fruit in several recipes. The rest of my inspirations will have to wait for another project I’ll be sharing, as I’m focusing on my favorite of the bunch, a simple oat porridge. Technically porridge is served warm, which you may do so with this recipe, but in the spring and summer I actually prefer this one just soaked without heating.

Marvelous mulberries.Mulberries are definitely in my pantry and part of my kitchen staples for a great carbohydrate source and of course their nutrition and flavor. The flavor reminds me of a raspberry and blackberry grown together, but when dried they are incredibly sweet- like no other dried fruit I’ve tasted! Also, dried mulberries have a fantastic texture to them, reminiscent of sticky toffee or crunchy candy. Fresh mulberries on the other hand, start out on the tree as a light lime green, slowly ripening to a beautiful pale pink color, then deep purple (as shown in the picture). You’ll know the mulberry is super ripe when it’s deep purple and it only takes a small movement and shake to the branch for it to fall from it’s post. Nature has a beautiful way of telling you when something is ready doesn’t it?

Many of my clients ask about quick, healthy, and delicious breakfast recipes and porridges and overnight oatmeal is one of the first I recommend after a green smoothie of course. Overnight oatmeal a.k.a. overnight oats, is simply raw rolled oats soaked in some type of liquid overnight or at least for 2-4 hours and then topped with anything under the sun! It’s vegan, gluten free, and friendly to all types of lifestyles and even those of you following a more “structured” meal plan with calories in mind- it can all be versatile. Overall this porridge has great fiber, carbohydrates, protein, and it’s simple to make ahead of time for your busy mornings.

Add-ons | Of course you can enjoy this recipe just as it is, or feel free to add on some of these ingredients for a boost in healthy fat and protein.

Combine all remaining ingredients into a bowl, stirring the remaining ⅓ cup mulberries, and put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Serve chilled or set on the counter to warm at room temperature before enjoying.

If making ahead of time, simply make this recipe in a tupperware container and store overnight in the fridge, take it out when you're ready the next morning and have your breakfast to-go!

Garnish with dried mulberries, honey drizzle, or additional cinnamon.

Notes

Lower sugar // use stevia to sweeten instead of honey/maple syrup and datesHigher protein // add any of the add-on's listed in the blog post

3.2.2700

I hope you all enjoy this porridge recipe. It’s been so wonderful hearing on Instagram all of your childhood experiences as well with mulberry trees- such a wonderful experience. Thanks for sharing and comment below if you have a story you’d like to share!

Hope you all have a beautiful weekend,

xx McKel

Nutrition Stripped news // Check out my latest article in SpryLiving.com all about smoothies! Also, today is the last day to enter the Juice Beauty giveaway and I’ll be choosing a winner shortly!

Share Your Thoughts

I also grew up with the big fat purple mulberry trees in Georgia- imagine my surprise after 4 years of living in Philadelphia, after moving to a new house, to discover we had a mulberry tree out back (!!!). It was heaven. But they are WHITE mulberries. So still delicious but less of a smushed mess in the yard !

What a lovely recipe, but I’m now a little sad. We took a tree out of our garden a few years ago. It had a berry that we didn’t recognised and nobody we asked could name it. We certainly didn’t think the berries were edible for humans. The berries would fall and turn our lawn into a sticky wasp feeding station. I’m gutted to realise from your description that we had a Mulberry tree right outside our back door!

:o) Ha ha, funnily enough I did a little research after reading your post. It seems that our fruit fell before it had a chance to ripen. I suspect our washy washy UK summers are at fault. It’s always lovely to receive some news of Nashville sunshine with your fabulous recipes. We loved the porridge and used blueberries as a substitute for the mulberries. We’ll try it with blackberries in the autumn. Thanks again
Eve

Hi Eve,
Thank you so much for sharing! I love the ideas of using whatever you all have available to you- whether it’s blackberries or any other type of berry. Mulberries are a tricky fruit, they’re very short seasoned and drop quickly! xx mckel

This looks lovely McKel. I’ve only ever had dried mulberries but I’d love to try fresh mulberries sometime soon. I haven’t seen them at any of our grocery stores but hopefully as they become more popular I’ll be able to find them!

I prepped this last night and had it for breakfast this morning! (I don’t have fresh mulberries, so I used blueberries and maqui powder and used dried mulberries to top it still!) It was SO filling, bright and delicious! Thanks :)

[…] muesli? Bircher muesli is the swiss version of what many of us simply call overnight oats; my Mulberry Soaked Oat Porridge is a perfect example of a bircher muesli; although technically porridge is served warm/hot. Regular […]

[…] already heard many confessions about my love of porridge and mueslis; Nourishing Muesli, Mulberry Soaked Oat Porridge, Cherry Cardamom Bircher Muesli and Mexican Chocolate Zoats to just name a few. The one style or […]

Hello! | Nutrition Stripped is your guide to living whole and eating well! As a Dietitian Nutritionist and lover of all things healthy, I'll show you how simple and delicious the whole foods lifestyle can be! Here you'll find resources, fitness, plant-centric and gluten free recipes, nutrition advice, a glimpse into my lifestyle, and ways to work with me privately. I hope you enjoy browsing my recipes and trying them in your kitchen! [Nashville, TN]

Praise

"McKel is an amazing nutrition/lifestyle coach. She is very down to earth and has such a positive energy that is contagious. .."

2014-10-07T15:37:59+00:00

"McKel is an amazing nutrition/lifestyle coach. She is very down to earth and has such a positive energy that is contagious. .."

http://nutritionstripped.com/testimonials/client-testimonial/

"Thank you for your awesome and inspiring website! I have been reading (and re-reading) it for the last year and it has helped me transition into a much healthier lifestyle..."

2014-10-07T15:41:49+00:00

"Thank you for your awesome and inspiring website! I have been reading (and re-reading) it for the last year and it has helped me transition into a much healthier lifestyle..."

http://nutritionstripped.com/testimonials/nutrition-stripped-praise/

"...I love the simplicity of your recipes all while incorporating ingredients that are obtainable and not overly expensive. The additions and variations are a wonderful addition. You are an inspiration in a world that is full of processed and industrialized food– you really change the paradigm..."

2014-10-07T15:43:20+00:00

"...I love the simplicity of your recipes all while incorporating ingredients that are obtainable and not overly expensive. The additions and variations are a wonderful addition. You are an inspiration in a world that is full of processed and industrialized food– you really change the paradigm..."